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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/27/2007 - Joint Study Session - City Council - Parks and Recreation Commission SPECIAL JOINT STUDY SESSION OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL AND THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MARCH 27, 2007 111 The City Council of the City of Costa Mesa, California met in a Special Joint Study Session with the Parks and Recreation Commission, on Tuesday, March 27, 2007, at 5:05 p.m. in the Conference Room 1A of City Hall, 77, Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor. I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Mansoor II. ROLL CALL: Council Members Present: Mayor Allan Mansoor Mayor Pro Tem Eric Bever Council Member Katrina Foley Council Member Wendy Leece Council Members Absent: Council Member Linda Dixon Commissioners Present: Chair Robert Graham Vice Chair Kurt Galitski• Commissioner Mike Brumbaugh Commissioner Mark Harris Commissioner Terry Shaw (Entered at 5:15 p.m.) Commissioners Absent: None. Officials Present: City Manager Allan Roeder City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow Public Services Director, William Morris Maintenance Services Manager Bruce Hartley Recreation Manager Jana Ransom City Clerk Julie Folcik III. PUBLIC COMMENT 1. Martin Millard, Costa Mesa, expressed his concern regarding the active uses within the passive parks such as Canyon, Paularino, and Vista Park, and the new Brentwood Park and suggested that the City purchase "decrepit" apartments, demolish them for additional park and open-space that is needed within the neighborhoods. 2. Judi Berry, Costa Mesa, reported her observance of active uses at Vista and Canyon parks, stating she had witnessed people setting up tents and charging admission to get into one of the parks and the blocking off of areas to play soccer. She commented that the City needs to maintain these parks as passive parks. 3. Mike Berry, Costa Mesa, reiterated the previous speaker's complaints of the active uses of the neighboring passive parks; and felt that the formula used in measuring park space necessity should include the number of field users by the neighboring cities and not just the city's resident base. 4. Beth Refakes, Costa Mesa, commented that there are not enough parks on the east side and encouraged the City to look at acquiring additional land for parks on the east side. She also suggested the Council use the interactive workshop format to receive public input when developing a new Recreation and Open Space Master Plan. 5. Berry Zimmerman, commissioner of Region 97 AYSO Newport/Costa Mesa Soccer, expressed the need for lit soccer fields. 6. Steve Mensinger, Costa Mesa, felt that there is an inequity of field use by those organizations outside of the City and stated that he would like to see Costa Mesa residents given priority of the playing fields in Costa Mesa. 7. Jen Granik, Costa Mesa, expressed a need for more lit playing fields. 8. Jeff Grant, AYSO Regional 97 Director of Fields, thanked the Recreation Division for their continuous collaborative efforts in working towards successful management and fair allocation of the existing fields. He encouraged the Council to allow staff to continue working leaguesmitigating the in miti ating field uses. 9. Pam Garrett, Registrar from Region 97 AYSO, advised that most of the children attend school together and while an equal field allocation is requested from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa the focus is on the youth's experience and not from where they reside. IV. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Consideration of an Update to the City's Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan William Morris, Director of Public Services, presented the staff report. Discussion ensued regarding staff's proposed considerations relative to the updating of the City's Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan, the hiring of a consultant to review the definitions of active and passive uses, re-evaluation of existing parks and uses, and the consideration of cancelling the existing Capital Improvement Project to study properties that could potentially become available for the City's purchase in the future, and the preparation of conceptual plans. Questions and comments from Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission touched on land acquisition for open-space, long-term versus short term planning of recreational needs, and a suggestion of the providing an active use area on the eastside of Fairview Park. 2. Concept Presentation for Field Master Planning At Costa Mesa High School, Davis School and TeWinkle/California Schools Allan Roeder, City Manager, briefed the Council relative to a concept for a short-term solution for better utilization of the capacity of the current joint-use field sites. Discussion took place between the Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission regarding the development of a master plan of each school site to improve efficiency, maintenance and design, as well as shared ideas such as the inclusion of additional sites in the master planning process. 3. Status Update on Park and Open Space Proiects. William Morris, Director of Public Services and Maintenance Services Manager Bruce Hartley, made an oral presentation outlining the Park and Open Space Improvement Projects that included the Senior Center, Fairview Park Tree planting, improvements at the Community Garden, and a sidewalk at the Neighborhood Community Center. 4. Liability and Litigation Issues The City Attorney made the Council and the Commissioners aware of legal issues that they may come across in the normal course of their deliberations or when out in the community that could be a concern for liability issues; and responded to questions. V. DISCUSSION BETWEEN COUNCIL AND PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGARDING ITEMS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION Discussion between the Council and the Commissioners ensued relative various topics of interest and shared ideas that included: programs for better utilization of the skate park (i.e. skate camps); an Intramural Sports leagues; after-school activities that may occur on school sites; community trails; and utilization of subcommittees for great public input on park issues; allocation policy and reservation process for field use reservations; the lighting of sport fields; the review of the uses of a passive park, parking at Fairview Park; use and maintenance of Talbert Park. No action was taken on this item. VI. ADJOURNMENT: The Mayor declared the City Council meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. The next Regular Meeting will be held April 3, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. Allan R. Mansoor,.Mayor ATTEST: Juli olcik, City Clefk